Why is wood so common in homes?

The most common material found in North American homes is likely wood. It is used in the framing of many houses, a popular material for flooring and finishing, and for cladding the exterior or even the roof of a home.

How and why did wood become so popular. Wood is classified as a renewable source, how easily renewable it is and at what rate is a different story, but this allows for a natural steady source. Wood could be used for crude structures without much refining making it easy and cost effective initially, it was also much easier to work with that harder materials like stone. Because wood is readily available it is also very cost effective compared to other material, such as traditional brick homes which cost much more.

Wood has now become quite standardized with different lengths and specifications available but many standard sizes across the board. Anyone with construction experience will know a 2x4 piece of lumber is not actually 2x4, it is 1.5x3.5! That’s a discussion for another post on how our lumber has changed throughout the years.

While steel and brick/stone are typically a stronger material than wood they are also much heavier, this is another reason why wood is so popular. Wood is much easier to work with from a weight perspective, as well as malleability. Wood can be cut with simple power saws or even hand saws, while the same can be done with metal the process is more dangerous because of the sparks and time consuming, not to mention the added price of metal blades. Stone and brick often require a specialty saw or blade and result in a lot of dust or water from wet saws.

Wood is typically fastened with nails or screws which are simple and low cost methods that have also been developed throughout the years to make for a more efficient building process. Metal requires welding or bolting, this usually results in a stronger structure but is much more costly and requires more specialized labour. This is why many new homes have a mix of wood and metal which allows the cost to be kept lower but for modern designs to still work.

The aesthetics of wood can be altered in many ways making it appeal to a wide range of eyes, and useful in many different designs. Staining wood is a very popular treatment for wood that will be on a deck or a floor, this involved dyeing the wood to change its colour while still allowing its grain to show. Painting of wood is popular in many applications such as wall cladding, trim, and many types of furniture, some people avoid painting wood because it covers the grain. Wood can and should also be clear coated or sealed to protect its vibrant colour, otherwise it may go grey over time, but this depends on the wood.

The vast variety of wood is also another reason it is so popular, there are so many varieties it will require a blog of its own. For now these are some of the reason why wood has become one of the most popular materials in home construction